1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to microfilm techniques, and is more particularly concerned with microfilm articles, the production of such articles, and apparatus for the utilization of such articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Film strip readers have been well known in the art for quite some time. S. E. Taylor in U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,313 discloses a film strip projector having a control for changing the speed of exhibition of the material being read. The Taylor apparatus is one of many such devices which are designed to be supported by a table or the like and to project the information content of the film onto a remote viewing screen.
W. Bartky in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,032,829 discloses a hand-held film strip device in which the information content of the film is projected toward a lens through which the operator views a virtual image of the information content. H. B. Shapiro in his U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,133 also discloses a hand-held device of generally the same type as disclosed by Bartky with the exception that the information content of the film is projected onto a small translucent screen which is actually smaller than the film itself.
One of the most successful models of a microfilm reader is the Viking manufactured by the Microform Products Division of Realist, Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This reader is a folding device which fits into an attache case. The reader includes a self-contained screen which can be utilized as a front or rear projection screen and the screen is removable for projection of larger images onto a remote flat reflective surface. This is a microfiche reader with x-y microfiche card adjustment and weighs approximately two pounds.
Text/Fiche publications basically include printed matter on paper in book or booklet form and one or more microfiche cards with the fiche information referenced by the printed matter. In reading such material, a person must refer back and forth between printed and projected subject matter. In the article "Chicago Press Launches New Micropublishing Project: Text/Fiche", published in the periodical "Publishers Weekly" of May 24, 1976, the Text/Fiche technology and its advantages and disadvantages are discussed with the conclusion that such publications are viable as limited edition university press publications and, that a larger edition potential as educational and consumer products could not yet be judged without field experience. The article goes on to say that the primary limitation on the latter type of publication is the lack of reading machines installed in offices, classrooms and homes of potential buyers. Furthermore, the article points out that additional incentives are needed to obtain better equipment at prices that will be attractive to individual purchasers and that such incentives must come from the publishing industry, by publishers committing themselves to a greater utilization of the Text/Fiche form of publication, in that the public has no reason to invest in equipment if there are no materials available to be viewed by such equipment.